600 for scheme

Siteri Sauvakacolo
Saturday, January 04, 2014

THE top 600 students who qualify for the National Toppers Scheme will choose from certain priority areas of study the government has set out.

These areas of study include tourism, engineering, mining and milling, commerce studies, medicine and health, agriculture, fisheries and forestry, teacher training, land and town planning, social sciences, technology and special areas of high priority in diploma and certificate levels.

The Tertiary Scholarship and Loans Scheme (TSLS) co-ordinator Senimili Kamikamica said this was part of government's commitment to see Fiji's human resource needs would be met in the future.

"This National Toppers Scheme is the main scheme and there is a list of priority areas government has set out," she said.

"These are the priority areas that the qualified applicants will choose from.

"This will include overseas studies as well but for courses not offered locally but are on government's priority list.

Ms Kamikamica said the Tertiary Education Loans Scheme (TELS) would be different and this applied for all those who scored below 300 marks from Form Seven and foundation studies.

"But for those below 250 they can apply for Technical, Vocational and Educational Training (TVET) programs offered at the FNU.

"The TELS is mainly for those who have been studying at tertiary level last year, Form Seven and foundation and who cannot fund their education to complete. "

Applications for toppers close on January 10 while TELS will be opened according to the various institutions' enrolment/ closing date.